Last Jewish woman in Kochi passes away

According to Jewish culture, there is a requirement of ten male members for such ceremonies, and the funeral was held following the tradition.

Thiruvananthapuram: The second last member of the Jewish community of Kochi died on Sunday.

Queenie Hallegua, who was also the last woman member of the community in Kochi, died at the age of 89. Her nephew Keith Hallegua, 65, is the lone member of the community left behind in Kochi.

The Jewish community at Mattancherry in Fort Kochi is believed to be one of the foremost groups of Jews who arrived in country. It is even believed that the presence of Jews in Kerala dates back to 68 AD, though their major activities in Kochi date back to the 17th century.

The Jews of Fort Kochi played a key role in bringing many development initiatives to the region. Hallegua's father S S Koder had introduced electricity distribution in Kochi, along with running various business ventures in the state.

There were three groups of Jews in Kochi - Black Jews, White Jews and Meshuhrarim. Mattancherry still has many buildings constructed by Jews, many of them are now converted to hotels. The Jewish synagogue in Mattancherry is a major tourist attraction. After the formation of Israel in 1948 many Jews from Kochi went to Israel.

However, many like Hallegua, who was married to Samuel H Hallegua, preferred to remain in Kochi itself. Even her son and daughter are now settled abroad.

The funeral of Hallehua was performed by following the Jewish traditions. Jewish tourists in Kochi also took part in the funeral.